This invention relates generally to wind turbine towers, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for assembling wind turbine towers.
At least some known wind turbine towers include a plurality of sections coupled on top of one another to form the tower. Generally, adjacent sections are welded around a perimeter of a joint defined between the adjoining sections to form a unitary structure. Often, however, the welds may be subjected to flexural stresses caused by loads within the tower or induced to the tower during turbine operation. Specifically, high winds acting on the tower may cause increased flexural stresses, and/or the weight of the turbine at the top of the tower and/or the operation of the turbine may induce high cycle vibrational flexural stresses within the tower. Over time, a combination of these factors may cause the welds to be subjected to high tensile stresses, which may increase the probability of cracks initiating and propagating at the welds. Weld cracking may reduce the life span of the turbine tower, which in-turn may increase costs associated with maintaining the tower.